iPod Shuffle: NejixSora
by Michaela.Lala
Summary: a few drabbles for my OCxNeji pairing...  longer and not stupid.   as in: pertaining to the story "Frosted Wings" by me.  R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: so, i was feeling uninspired. i'd read some of these before, and i think these are better... :3**

**tell me if you like them. i may or may not do this for my other pairings, but i liked it. :D**

**love, Lala**

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-X-x- _Unsaid, by The Fray _ -x-X-

"Hey Sora-chan," I started. She turned around to face me, that same miserable look on her face as before. "What's wrong?"

She stared at me for a minute, searching for something on my face. The rain outside poured down without hesitation, and I drank in the scent of clean air. Sora's face changed little by little, until a stubborn, angry, and hurt look creased it harshly.

"Nothing," she growled at me, before turning again and heading toward her and Tsuki-san's home. Frustrated with her attitude, I reached a hand out to her shoulder and gripped it firmly.

"I'm almost seventeen, Sora. You're almost sixteen. You don't think we're old enough to say what we feel?"

She didn't look back at me. "You know what, Neji? Do whatever the Hell you want. Just leave me out of whatever plans you have. I'm sick and tired of being the one in the background, picking you up when you fall. _Sick of it_." She jerked my shocked hand off her shoulder and picked up the speed of her walk as she headed home.

"Sora…" I murmured into the rain. "What's going on…?" She kept walking. _Sora-chan, you've never been in the background. Since Father died, you've been the only one with me in the foreground. So why do you think such preposterous things?_

I turned back to my door. Before I went in, I stared past the rain at the fading figure of my best friend, and I could have sworn she was staring back at me, something silvery-white gleaming on her cheek, before she turned and disappeared into darkness.

-X-x- _Meant to Live, by Switchfoot_ -x-X-

He was watching me.

I was amazed, actually. He had never seen me fly like this: for recreation. I did it a lot, but he was always on some mission, or doing something else with his team. It was kind of nice to see him in awe of my unique power. It was refreshing, in fact.

But something was wrong. I'd expected him to sit back and maybe watch from a distance, but he looked sad. I wanted to comfort him, like I always had, but for once I had no clue what was going on in his head. A confused frown set into my face, I made for a landing.

o\O/o

She came swooping down to land in front of me, a strange look on her face.

"What's wrong," I said, not particularly feeling like asking it correctly.

"Good question," she replied in the same tone.

"Hn?"

"What's wrong, Neji?" she stared at me like she always did when she was worried. It was a look of confusion and fret that devoured my insides one by one.

"Nothing, it's just ironic, you know?"

"What do you mean?" she honestly looked curious.

"Think about it," I replied. I started unraveling the bandage around my forehead, revealing the green scar on its surface. I touched a finger to the X in the center. "Maybe I'm jealous."

"Hm…" she stared at me while I replaced my covering.

"What? Go again; it must be fun," I began walking toward a tree to rest.

Suddenly a flurry of wind picked up and I found the ground getting further and further away.

"WHA-?" I gaped, knowing exactly what was going on. "Sora-chan! Put me down now!"

"What?" she asked with a triumphant smirk on her face. "Afraid of heights? Or are you just too comfortable with being caged, Mr. Bird?"

"I-" I began. But I never finished; what was I to say?

She flew me around for a while. I had to admit: even if someone saw me in this ridiculous position—with Sora's arms tight around my chest—I would be able to shake off their taunts easily.

_So this is what it's like to be free,_ I pondered.

-X-x- _Dare You to Move, by Switchfoot_ -x-X-

I wiped my mouth. After this, I would shake off the mednins on call in the back room and heal myself. Well, that would require me to have enough chakra. Either way, my opponent wasn't about to let up, and I would have to figure it all out later.

I stared across the arena at my temporary enemy. Sunai stared back and did the same. I wasn't about to lose to her; I'd decided that a long time ago. Still, she was better than be at taijutsu than me, and she knew every single one of my strengths and weaknesses. Of course, I knew the same for her, but that didn't mean I would win. Far from it, in fact.

"I don't want to do it, Sora," Sony muttered.

"Me either, Sony, but we have to keep trying. Unless you plan on throwing the match?" I panted.

"No way," she replied, "but that's still an option for you. Forfeit, Sora!"

"No way in Hell!" I shouted at her and charged.

Here's the problem with fighting Sony: she's smart, fast, and good at everything. I'd fought her before, but not enough. She knew how to analyze a target quickly and it made her nearly unstoppable. I focused my chakra to my fingers and released it, like Neji had taught me, and I aimed for her Achilles tendon. I feigned an attack with kunai and she pulled one of her own, blocking them away. I reached for her ankle, but a sharp pain in my back stopped me. I blinked and saw that Sunai was gone, and a little volley of knives were embedded in my back, away from various vitals.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. I was pinned. Sunai raised an arm an chopped a chakra-infused slash into my injured back. My lungs filled slightly, and I coughed blood onto the tiles in front of me. I was finished; that much I knew.

_I dare you to win. I dare you to stay alive._

My eyes flew open. _Neji._

That's right. He was the only reason I had survived the last two tests. I had promised him that I wouldn't lose.

So I refused to.

_I dare you to get up and keep moving._

_Neji._

-X-x- _Marchin' On, by OneRepublic_ -x-X-

"How long are you going to avoid me?" he asked.

"As long as it takes!" I pushed myself into a kick at his stomach. I missed.

"Why?"

"It should be obvious," I swung my fist back to smack his face. I missed again and growled in frustration.

"Why, Sora-chan?"

"Don't call me that."

"Why?"

"Shut up, Neji."

"Why should I?"

"Shut up!"

"Give me one good reason!"

"Because you need to," a voice came in.

"Go away, Tenten," I gritted my teeth without looking at her. Without my realizing it, we'd stopped sparring altogether, and our bickering had made the others around us interested.

"No, Sora. Get over it."

"_Tenten_," I warned.

"Sora…" I heard Sunai start.

"Don't even, Sunai!" I yelled at her. Izumi opened her mouth, but I silenced her with a look. I turned back to Neji. "If you don't figure it out, it's not even _worth_ it. You're not worth it if you don't even know that much about me after almost thirteen years of knowing me, _living_ with me!" I yelled at his emotionless face. I walked up to him and poked his chest, _hard_.

"Figure. It. Out. Neji_-san_," I hissed. I backed away from all of them, a total of five worried faces gazing at me. Team Gai, minus Neji and Tenten, were confused with the situation. My team stared in confusion as well, but only because I'd never had a backbone before now. "Bye, guys. See you whenever."

"Sora-" Mei tried.

"No, Mei-san," Gai stopped her, still looking at me. "She needs time."

"But-"

"Thanks, Gai-sensei. Ja ne," I bowed at him and flashed away, leaving them to their confusion.

"Time alone, huh? How is that going to help?" I felt Mom's presence next to me. I didn't look up.

"I need to wait for him to catch up to me."

"But what about moving on?" she asked.

"Things aren't always what they seem," I replied sadly. "I can't keep marching until the ones that are supposed to be alongside me are really there."

"…Maybe so."

-X-x- _Clear the Area, by Imogen Heap_ -x-X-

I ran home fast. I meant _fast. _

_Neji. Neji. Neji. _I thought his name with every breath I took.

I flew through the gates to the Hyuga estate, ignoring the calls of the gatekeepers. I pried off my shoes and carried them with me to his room.

"Neji? Open the door, Neji!"

"Yeah? Whadd'ya wan'?" he answered the door.

_He's drunk._

"N-Neji?" I asked timidly.

"Sooora-chan! C'mon in!" he pulled me into his room and closed the door behind me.

"Neji-kun? Are you… okay?"

"Sure I am!" he smiled in my face.

I slapped him across the right side of his face.

"Get. A hold. Of your sanity!" I grabbed his shirt collar. "What is _wrong _with you! This isn't the answer, Neji! You know better than anyone, pain isn't something to drink to!"

"Agh! Re_lax_ Sora-chan! It's just a l'il sake! Nothing to die over!"

"Neji, go get some water."

"Why? You thirsty?" he smiled. He smelled like… he smelled sad.

"Yeah. Sure."

"Oookay!"

For some reason, I'd never thought of Neji as a drinker. When he'd become a jounin, Tsuki had offered him a bit, and he'd accepted it kindly, but he'd never overdone it like this.

_I guess that's what happens when your Father dies._

The anniversary. That was today. The one day that Neji always stays home on, and the one day I always spent with him.

"Neji…" I murmured.

"C'mon, sweetie. Have some," he offered me the offending drink.

"No. Now drink that water."

"Fine." He gulped down the water. "Happy?"

"Yes."

He lurched forward and pulled my into a kiss. He reeked of sake and I thought about it. Our kiss yesterday had been thought through, but this was in a drunken daze. But I could use it.

I gathered chakra in my palm and when Neji hand began to crawl toward the sticks holding up my hair, I released my palm's energy into his forehead. He fell to the ground, sleeping, and I sighed at him.

"Don't worry, Neji-kun. I'll wait for you to come back to me."

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**R&R to tell me to do more! :DD**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: so Christian (officially my favorite person) reviewed on both my stories and thanks for that, so i wrote more. enjoy!**

**xoxo, Lala**

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—X-x- _Just the Way You Are, by Bruno Mars _ -x-X—

"Oh, Kami," she mumbled under her breath. "Sorry, Neji, I haven't been out of here for a while," she faked a smile.

"It's fine. Neither of us were appearance people anyway," Neji shrugged. He entered Sora's room. He thought it odd; she had always been living in her mom's house, and so her own house just seemed… odd.

"You really think I look all right?" she tilted her head forward, not believing him.

"Well, you've certainly looked better," he acknowledged. "But yes, you look fine."

She looked torn between being angry and being flattered. "Well, thanks, I think. I disagree though," she sighed and headed to her new kitchen. "You want tea or something?"

"I'll get water," he followed her into the room. "And why do you disagree?"

"'Cause I'm a mess," she laughed, like it was the most obvious thing in the universe. "You honestly think I look okay."

"Yes."

"And how is that."

"Because you're smiling," he caught himself and automatically wanted to hit himself upside the head.

"So… me smiling makes my wreck of a hair day, dirty clothes, and slipper-less feet… fine."

"Yes." He decided to just go with it. It was already out there.

"Well thanks," she grinned. "I might just have to smile more often!" she skipped to the near-empty fridge and brought out a pitcher of cold water and poured it into two glasses. "Especially if _you_think it looks good."

—X-x- _Jar of Hearts, by Christina Perri _ -x-X—

"So I was thinking."

"Hm?" he sighed.

"Don't 'hm' me. Anyway, I noticed you were spending a lot more time with Tenten," I stopped his walking. We were just walking around Main Street after eating at a café down the road. He had been more and more distant, so I had managed to drag him on a 'date' with me.

"Yeah. Didn't anyone tell you?"

"Tell me…?" I prompted.

"We're going out."

I froze.

"You're…"

"Aa. For a couple weeks now."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?" I screeched, attracting attention from people walking past.

"I figured someone would."

"But not you."

"No."

I stepped back, reevaluating him. My mouth hung open, my eyes burning. "Okay, fine. So… it is serious?" we continued walking.

"I suppose."

"Like… have you…" I winced, wishing I hadn't brought it up.

"Yes."

It hurt. Of course it hurt. I had always known it would hurt when he got a girlfriend. I'd even assumed it would be her. I also figured he wouldn't tell me. But it hurt _more _than I thought it would. I gulped. My heart ached, and I felt like it was imploding, then reappearing, then imploding again.

"So it is serious. Or, to an extent," I added hopefully. I took comfort in the fact that ninja never got into playful relationships. We didn't have that much time. And even then, Neji was the type that only liked a few people that much.

"I don't know yet. Sora, are you crying?" he stopped and stared at me like I'd grown a second head. I was hardly surprised to see my vision blur.

"A little bit. Nothing to worry about, I just… got something in my eye." I knew that was weak. I also knew he would figured it out eventually. And when he did, it would hurt that much more when I was rejected. "I, um…"

"What happened?" he asked, and it hurt to even see that tiny spark of protectiveness in his white eyes, and I broke down just a little inside.

"Do you…" I swallowed. Well, I tried to. "Do you really not know? Have you really not noticed?" My face began to tense, my lips turning downward in the beginnings of a sob.

"Nani?"

"I'm just…" I forced a smile onto my face. "I'm fine. I have to go. See you." I jumped away, gripping my heart through my shirt.

_I can't let him hurt me like this anymore…_

_I've got to stick up for myself now._

—X-x- _Across The Line, by Linkin Park _-x-X—

"Where is Neji?" I screeched in desperation.

The maniac called 'Pain' was invading, and he was nowhere to be found. I was alone, searching and probably supposed to be at the hospital helping Sakura, but I had to find my friends.

"Sora!" Someone, a heavenly and familiar voice called out behind me. I whirled around with a relieved grin, only for it to fade into a terrified scowl at the sight I beheld.

"Sora," Sunai panted. Her arm was shaking around the waist of the injured person in her arms, and her entire body was covered in soot and dirt, caked into every crevice of her sweat-soaked body. Her vest was torn open, and there was a gash in her left leg.

"Sony…" I trembled. "That isn't…" I couldn't move.

She nodded, and my eyes burned. "It's her, Sora. It's Izumi."

My knees stopped working, and I fell. The rubble under me tore through the skin but I barely felt it. Then Sunai collapsed and I mentally slapped myself. Blinking away the coming tears, I ran a chakra-covered hand around them, a diagnostic. Sunai had a collapsed lung and she'd lost a lot of blood, and Izumi….

Her entire chakra system was failing, fast. She also sustained a broken wrist (no shocker there) and a fractured collarbone. I wasn't sure how she'd done it, but she was dying.

"No…" I whimpered. "No, no, no, no!" I wracked my brain for a solution. I myself was injured, I was almost out of chakra, and I couldn't carry both of them at once to the hospital. I took a deep breath. "Sony."

"Yeah?"

"I need to take Iz to the medics. She's… she's dying."

"Go then. And hurry up," she panted.

"One more thing," I said, turning to her. "I'm going to stabilize your lung."

"NO, GO, SORA!"

"I WON'T!"

"…Hurry up, then."

I did, and shakily grabbed a barely-breathing Izumi and bounded away. I reached the hospital wing with blurring vision and the fleeting sensation of falling. I hit something hard and tried my damnedest to stay awake.

"Sora!" I recognized Chouji's voice. "C'mon, stay awake."

"Ah'm okay," I slurred, letting him set me on my knees.

"Take a food pill. I got to go," he shoved a tiny pill into my quivering palm. I nodded and crunched down on the pill. Not a minute later, my vision had stabilized.

"Sukai-san, come with us," a random doctor urged. I nodded and stood, running after him. We entered a space packed with injured people. I ignored them for the moment and sprinted toward the black and red blob that was Izumi, my best friend.

"We…" another doctor pulled away from a diagnostic.

"Just spit it out," I growled. He turned to me, and the look on his face would haunt me for the rest of my life.

"…It would be best to put her out of her misery."

"NO!" I screeched once again. My voice broke. "Damn it, why am I always so fucking WEAK?" I punched the ground. I felt tears again, but I refused to let them spill over. I breathed deeply and blinked. I nodded, and I kept my eyes closed. I heard them all bustling about, and I soon heard the tap of fingernail against glass. My eyes shot open. "Give me that."

The man didn't object. He handed me the syringe and I wiped Izumi's elbow clean.

"Sora…?" her voice whispered.

"Figures you'd wake up now," I chuckled without humor.

"What…?" she blinked at the syringe. I knew she hated needles, but her eyes were delusional.

"I'm going to make everything stop hurting. Trust me."

"I know what that means…" she closed her eyes with a slight smile.

"Of course. Of course you do."

"Do it…"

"Okay…" I poked the syringe into the skin of her elbow. I squeezed the overdose into her veins every so slowly.

"Sora… save Sony, 'kay?"

"Duh, baka."

"And… tell Gaara…"

"I know, hon. He knows too."

"Yeah… I guess you're right…"

"I love you, Iz."

"You too, Sora. See ya…" her face tightened into a peaceful smile, and her eyes slid closed.

I pulled the empty syringe out with a sickening _pop_ and left it alone when nothing came out of the wound. The doctors had left, so I pulled a blanket over her head.

"It's Uzumaki Naruto!" someone shouted. I gasped. "He's here to save us!"

_Naruto…_

"Good!"

_Naruto… he's here to save us…_

Noises of screaming patients and panicked medics filled my head.

_Naruto… All my friends… It's up to us._

"Doctors." I said, letting my bangs hide my face.

"Yeah?"

"My friend, Kyuuma Sunai, is out there by sector twelve, she needs help."

"Hai."

"I may not come back today. Good luck, everyone," I declared to no one as I marched out of the broken area once known as the hospital. Even at a pace without chakra, I would make it to Naruto within ten minutes.

As promised, I did just that.

"_HINATA-SAMA!" _I was horrified to recognize that voice.

"…Neji."

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**A/N: hope that was fun for everyone. read and review, and have a nice rest of the summer!**


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